HAITI'S CATHOLIC BISHOPS TAKE STAND AGAINST ARMY

Taking a tough new stand, Haiti's Catholic bishops have advocated disarming the ruthless private army of the Duvalier regime and banning the dictatorship's collaborators from civil service.

"We insist on this justice to break the hellish circle of hate and vengeance," the 10-member bishops council said Sunday in its first reaction to the week-old soldiers' rebellion.In an unsually strong statement broadcast by Radio Soleil church radio, the bishops addressed "a solemn appeal to all Haitians to take seriously this moment which, led according to the principles of the Gospel and the social teachings of the church, can lead to a veritable liberation."

The bishops said the people wanted a change in the system when, through massive demonstrations, they forced Jean-Claude Duvalier to flee to France in February 1986, ending his family's 29-year dictatorship.